Officials Deal With Political Fallout by Pointing Fingers

"We're still fighting over authority," New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said over the weekend. "A bunch of people are the boss. The state and the federal government are doing a two-step dance."

Landrieu, echoing the concerns of others, said that "it's mind-boggling to everyone in Louisiana, including myself, why the president did not send forces earlier." Blanco commands the vast majority of the National Guard troops and should be questioned as to why she did not move more quickly, the senior aide responded.

The White House is moving on several fronts to repair Bush's image and streamline its response effort. Bush will return to Louisiana and Mississippi today.

With a number of African Americans accusing Bush of racial insensitivity, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice flew to the region to respond to critics. "Nobody, especially the president, would have left people unattended on the basis of race," she said. Rep. Melvin Watt (D-N.C.), chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, and other African American leaders were invited to the White House for a two-hour meeting Saturday in which top administration officials briefed participants on the hurricane response.

Watt said he was focused on rescue efforts, not politics, but observed: "I think there was the growing perception that folks were concerned and that it might have race implications" because African Americans were disproportionately represented among New Orleans residents unable to evacuate the city.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld was also dispatched yesterday to the region, and the senior aide said Bush anticipates the greater military presence will vastly improve communications and allow for more timely decision-making.

Some Republicans close to the White House say FEMA Director Michael D. Brown is taking the brunt of blame-casting in internal administration conversations, though Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and others defended his performance yesterday. Under initial plans, Chertoff was going to oversee the relief effort from Washington while Brown was Bush's man on the ground. In an about-face, Chertoff has become Bush's top subordinate in the region.

Chertoff is in charge of operational briefings for Bush, which start early each morning and occur periodically throughout the day. White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. is coordinating the hurricane team, and Karl Rove, the president's top political adviser, has been intimately involved in meetings. Bush, who typically works a fairly set schedule, has been working longer hours, getting in earlier than his usual 7 a.m. start and working as late as 9 p.m., at least two hours past his normal quitting time.

Staff writer Spencer Hsu contributed to this report.